Sharlene recently received her Graduate Diploma in Veterinary Acupuncture. Sharlene commented on her achievement...
"My interest in integrative veterinary medicine actually developed from personal experience where I saw quite a gap in conventional medicine when pharmaceuticals failed - often owners were left with such limited options and I felt compelled to believe there must be more to offer. My Grad Dip in Veterinary Acupuncture actually represents over 10 years of interest and tenacity in pursuing study in this area. I would sporadically search for accredited qualification in this area, the moment I discovered CIVT and the offered courses was a eureka moment, and even more so finally graduating with my qualification." 

Sharlene runs a holistic mobile service, 4 Paws Acupuncture, in Wellington New Zealand. The CIVT team congratulates Sharlene on her achievement and we look forward to hearing more about her journey in integrative veterinary medicine.

Dr Sharleen Green McInnes

New Zealand

Ingrid Spitze also recently received her Graduate Diploma in Veterinary Acupuncture. Ingrid is based in Auckland, New Zealand. When asked what inspired her interest in integrative medicine she commented.... 

"I was a bit frustrated with conventional medicine as we used anti-inflammatories and antibiotics for most cases, and we were often stuck when these did not work. While I was still studying veterinary science we treated a dog for liver failure at the University hospital, but without success. So I asked my sister, who is a graduated human homeopath and acupuncturist for advice. Fortunately my lecturers at the University gave permission to use homeopathy in combination with the conventional meds. The dog recovered fully. I was very inspired. Later I was treating endurance riding horses in Namibia. Anti-inflammatories, osteopathy and physiotherapy certainly helped, but acupuncture had a greater impact. After a while I felt I was only treating superficially and wanted to know more detail, I moved to New Zealand and started studying with CIVT. It has been very rewarding and I am grateful for having continued onto the Grad Dip, as learning about the advanced techniques has enabled me to treat at a much deeper level and help many more patients. It has given me a new lease of life in vet medicine."

Dr Ingrid Spitze

New Zealand

Dawn Wong recently received her Graduate Diploma in Veterinary Acupuncture. Dawn is based in Singapore, where she worked in a small animal clinic before recently becoming a freelance acupuncturist. She is particularly interested in feline and integrative medicine, she commented on her inspiration.....

"I used to be a huge sceptic of anything other than conventional Western medicine. What changed my view was an incident a few years ago involving a cat owned by my colleague. This cat was suffering from chronic spinal disease and ataxia which progressed to a neurogenic bladder. We tried everything we could from a Western medical perspective to no avail, until finally as a last resort, my colleague took the cat to a TCVM practitioner. After treatment with acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine, to our amazement, the neurogenic bladder completely resolved! The cat's ataxia improved as well. That was the turning point that changed my mindset and piqued my interest in integrative medicine. Integrative medicine can offer our patients so much more than we thought was possible! My Grad Dip means a lot to me and marks the culmination of 2 years of hard work and study. It has given me tools and skills to change the lives of many animals in a non-invasive way - including helping my own dog to walk again - and for that I am extremely grateful."

Dr Dawn Wong

Singapore

Karen Neff recently received her Graduate Diploma in Veterinary Western Herbal Medicine. Karen is based in Iowa, USA, where she works as a locum, mostly through one clinic. When asked to comment on her inspiration she provided the following comments......

"I became seriously interested in integrative medicine when I herniated a disc in my back 15 years ago. Experiencing first-hand how acupuncture kept me from needing surgery, I enrolled and earned certification in veterinary acupuncture from The Chi Institute. My next step in my alternative medicine journey was studying manual therapy (Animal Normalization Therapy) and was fascinated and very impressed with the quick responses in animals when conventional medicine had failed. What drew me to this was the gentle technique and no needles, perfect for those needle shy patients or clients. As more clients were seeking my advice on herbs they purchased over the internet, I realized just how ignorant I was on this aspect of alternative medicine. My journey continued when I received an email from CIVT about their course on Veterinary Western Herbal Medicine. As Chinese herbs never resonated with me, I grabbed this opportunity. After three very intense but well worthwhile years of study, I obtained my Grad Dip VWHM. This course demonstrated firsthand the power of herbs by reversing my partner's chronic leukopenia (conventional medicine was exhausted), resolving panic anxiety in a colleague's dog, to slowing CRD in my own uncooperative 19 year old cat. Herbs are now an extra tool in my toolbox. Thank you CIVT!"

Dr Karen Neff

United States of America

Theresa SaLee has received her Graduate Diploma in Veterinary Western Herbal Medicine. Theresa owns a multi doctor integrative small animal practice in Bartlett, Illinois, USA (outside Chicago). She discussed her inspiration below.....

"I developed an interest in integrative medicine before starting vet school while working for a veterinarian who did acupuncture. There was not much exposure to alternative therapies during school, but some amazing veterinarians took time to come speak to the students about alternative therapies, and I knew I wanted to learn these modalities to help my patients. I started out with acupuncture certification and then training in Chinese herbs, and loved having those options available. I added rehabilitation therapy and spinal manipulation therapy certification and was also very pleased with how much those modalities benefited my patients. Then I took a weekend short-course in Western herbal medicine and knew I had to learn more. The Graduate Diploma in Veterinary Western Herbal Medicine has been a challenging and rewarding course of study. It has helped integrate my scientific, western minded side with my energetic, intuitive side. Herbs are an amazing modality and I get a lot of satisfaction from helping my patients with these natural, effective treatments."

Dr Theresa SaLee

United States of America

Cheryl is based in the USA and recently received her Graduate Diploma of Veterinary Western Herbal Medicine. She commented on her inspiration.....

"I graduated from veterinary school (Michigan State University) in 1997. Thereafter, I pursued an internship, then residency program in Internal Medicine. I presently work in a small animal specialty hospital SE Michigan, where my employer has been supportive of my herbal studies.
I was initially attracted to internal medicine because I loved "solving the puzzle". I gradually became aware of gaps and deficiencies in allopathic medicine, and was disillusioned with the limited options in the treatment of diseases I encountered daily (too many missing puzzle pieces!). Herbal medicine has filled some of these gaps, and I hope to keep learning more integrative medicine.
My first introduction to western herbalism was when I was having my children. My homebirth midwifery group practiced herbalism, and I experienced its efficacy first hand. It planted a seed in my mind (no pun intended) that took some years to sprout. Once my kids were a bit older, I discovered CIVT's program and online training was a perfect fit for me.
Certainly, I am fortunate and grateful simply to have the knowledge- but the Grad Dip was important to achieve in my mind not only to enrich my daily practice, but also to lend validity to my referring veterinary community and clients', an acknowledgement that I hold this training and knowledge on a par with my internal medicine specialty certification."                               

Dr Cheryl Rice

United States of America

Jacqui, pictured here with Flash and Blaze, is based in New Zealand where she runs her own business, Veterinary Holistic Healthcare. She recently received her Graduate Diploma of Veterinary Western Herbal Medicine and commented on her achievement...

"I've been a practising vet for 30 years, throughout this time I have always felt that I could offer the animals I treated more than just conventional medicine; especially in cases that were non-responsive. I've always had an interest in complementary medicine and incorporated very basic remedies into my treatment protocols throughout my career.

In the last few years I was very fortunate to learn about CIVT and undertake the Essentials course initially, followed by my Diploma of Veterinary Western Herbal Medicine. The learning journey has completely transformed the way I practice. The ability to help animals at this deeper level utilising herbal medicine has provided a significantly greater level of job and patient satisfaction. 

The quality and high standard of learning, utilising evidence based medicine when available gave me the confidence to support the complementary therapies utilised in practice; particularly when discussing cases with colleagues.

Seeing animals respond to natural treatments brings me immense joy and a desire to keep learning. This Diploma has provided the impetus to allow me to fulfil my passion in bringing a different model to Veterinary Science. I have started a new veterinary business based on providing holistic support for animals, working alongside the clients conventional veterinarian. This is an exciting new chapter in my journey in promoting animal health through holistic modalities."

Dr Jacqui Snell

New Zealand

Maricarmen recently completed her veterinary neuroacupuncture studies. She is also qualified in acupuncture, homeopathy, reiki, physical therapy, nutritional therapy, flower essence therapy, Western herbs and Chinese herbs. Maricarmen runs a home-based practice in Santiago, Chile. She commented on her achievement... "The CIVT Neuroacupuncture course has been one of the best courses in my life, providing a deep update on both neurology and acupuncture. I feel more confident on neurologic examination, diagnosis and differentials. Acupuncture deals with the origin of neurological and musculoskeletal disorders, being a terrific medicine to treat both. This course is one you really should consider if you practice acupuncture....highly recommended!" 

Dr Maricarmen Barba

Chile

Emily is an associate veterinarian based in Melbourne, Australia. She recently received her Graduate Diploma of Veterinary Western Herbal Medicine. Emily commented on her achievement...

"I am a perpetual studier, a few years after graduating as veterinarian I completed a Masters of Veterinary Studies, then a few short courses in various topics. The more I studied in conventional medicine the more frustrated I became with the hypocrisy of belittling herbal medicine with claims of insufficient evidence when a large proportion of conventional treatments have very limited or low-grade evidence behind them. I have always had an open mind and niggling curiosity about herbal medicine, so I started with just the 6 week essentials of veterinary WHM course and immediately loved everything about it - Dr Fougere's tutorial style, the immense amount of research that has clearly gone into each and every topic and how clearly presented and easy to use the information was. From there I continued on to do the certificate and then the graduate diploma which was similarly a lot of information, clearly presented with really helpful and supportive tutors. 

I still practice conventional medicine and offer western herbal medicine to interested clients. Studying the graduate diploma has helped me become a much more thorough veterinarian generally but it has really sparked a passion in herbal medicine. I am trying to make myself take a year off studying before I start browsing the CIVT course list to see what I will enroll in next."

Dr Emily Warfield

Australia